Fast Tripod Leveling

I have used a Manfrotto 055Pro tripod for about six years now, but it has always been a pain to adjust the legs all the time to get the panohead in a starting level position on uneven ground.

Well, Manfrotto now have a solution to help: the Level Centre Column 555B. To quote their description:

You can quickly level your photo or video head. A built-in 50mm half ball with 15mm of levelling is mounted on top of the tripod center column so as to make the angle of the plate independent of the rest of the tripod. Locking and unlocking of the half ball is via a turning grip on the bottom of the center column.

The photos below show the panohead perfectly level even though the tripod legs are set to provide a slope.

Quickly correcting the central column rather than unlocking and adjusting the legs, saves a lot of time.